David f



(No Moden.)

D. P. SAUM. WRITBBJS ALIGNING GUIDE.

No. 490,086. Patented Jan. 17, 1893.

"Mp5 HMI,

UNITED STATES irren.

PATEN WRITERS ALiGNlNG-GUIDE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 490,086, dated January1'?, 1893.

Application iled May 14, 1892. Serial No. 433,053. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known thatLDAvID F. SAUM, acitizeu of the United States, residingat lVashington, inthe District of Columbia, have invented certain newand useful Improvem ents in Writers Aligning-Guides; and I do herebydeclare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itapp'ertains to make and use the same.

The object of my invention is to furnish an aid to writers, the devicebeing more particularly adapted for use by persons temporarily orpermanently deprived of their eye-sight, and designed to guide the penor pencil in straight lines across the paper and to space the lines atregular or uniform distances along the length of the paper.

With these ends in view, theinvention consists in the combination of abase, a top above the same, a movable slide guided on the base andcarrying an elevated hand guide which extends across the top pawl andratchet mechanism arranged below the top and adapted to move said slideand guide at regular intervals, and a release key connected to the pawlto throw lthe same out of engagement with the rack and enable the slideand hand guide to be returned to their initial positions.

My invention further consists of the combination and construction ofparts which will be hereinafter fully described and particularly pointedout in the claims.

The invention is fully illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forminga part hereof, and in which f Figure l is a perspective View. Fig. 2 isaplan view with the top removed. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional viewwith the top in place, on the plane indicated by the dotted line -a; ofFig. 2. Fig. e is a detail perspective view of a part of the slideshowing the spring rock shaft, the pawl, and the friction spring.

Like letters of reference denote corresponding parts in the severalgures of the drawings, referring to which- A designates the top and Bthe bottom of my device, which parts are preferablyr made flat and ofthe form shown, although this is not strictly necessary. The bottom Bisprovided with the vertical raised flanges or ledges b, b, across theends thereof, and on these ledges rests the top A, which may be securedin place on the bottom in any suitable way, as for instance, by screws.

In the top side or face of the bottom B, I provide a longitudinal grooveb', which is arranged in the middle of the bottom and preferably extendsfrom end to end thereof; Vand in this groove or way is fitted a tongue cof the slide O which extends across the bottom and through longitudinalslots d, t7., formed in the battens D, D, which are secured to thebottom B along the sides thereof. On the protruding ends of the slide Oare the rigid upright lugs or supports e arranged outside of the top andbottom, and to these lugs or supports is secured the hand guide E whichpreferably consists of a rigid piece of any suitable material.

The guide strip or piece is supported by the lugs on the slide above thetop A for a suitable distance to permit paper or a tablet to be placedon the top A, and said strip is arranged in an inclined positionrelative to the top A so that the hand or fingers can rest or rideagainst one side of said guide strip while the two first fingers andthumb of the hand are free to have the necessary movements over saidguide strip to write upon the paper or tablet on the top A. The guidestrip serves to guide the hand in writing from one side to the other ofthe paper so that the line of Writing extends in a practically straightline across the paper; and to prevent the successive lines of writingfrom running into one another I provide mechanism for regularly movingthe hand guide and the slide with a step by step movement down thelength of the paper. This mechanism consists of a feed rack, F, a leverG for operating the rack, and a pawl H carried by the slide and held bya spring in engagement with the rack. The rack is arranged beneath thetop, extending from end to end thereof, and in thelower side of the barare formed the ratchet teeth shown in Fig. 3, and in the lower end ofthis ratchet bar is formed alongitudinal slotfin which fits the pin fwhich is secured in the bottom B4 and serves to limit the back and forthmovements of the rack bar. To the other end of the rack bar is pivotedthe operating lever G arranged transversely across the bottom, and

one end of this lever is fulcrumed on the bot tom while the other endprojects beyond the side of the device so that said protruding end ofthe lever can be easily grasped in order to reciprocate the rack bar.

In the upper side of the slide C is provided a longitudinal recess fz',and in this groove tits the rock shaftj which is journaled in suitablebearings on the slide, said rook shaft having the pawl II rigidlysecured thereto in position to engage with one of the teeth of the rackbar. Around the rock shaft is iitted the coiled spring J, having one endsecured to said shaft and the other end to the slide; and the outer endof this rock shaft carries an exposed release key K which lies at oneside of the device in position to be easily depressed by the nger inorder to throw the pawl out of the path of the teeth on the rack bar, sothat the slide and its attached parts can be easily returned to theirinitial positions.

To keep the slide securelyin place and prevent any loose motion of theparts, I employ a friction spring L which is attached to the slide andhas its free arm bent to ride and bear against the lower face of the topA, thus keeping the slide in its depressed proper position. The motionof the hand in either direction across the paper on the top is limitedby means of the stops m, m, which are carried by the hand guide; andsaid stops may be adjustably secured to the hand guide by any suitablemeans.

Any suitable form of clip M may be used to hold the paper or tabletfirmly in place on the top A.

In operation, the paper is adjusted and clamped on the top A, and theslide is moved toward the upper end of the top. The device is now inposition for use, and in Writingthe third or fourth iin gers of the handride against vthe guide strip While the other fingers and thumb are freeto move over the guide strip so that the Writing can be easilyaccomplished and the Words will be arranged in a straight line acrossthe paper. After one line has been Written, the lever G is moved by handto reciprocate the rack bar, which, being engaged with the pawl, servesto move the slide and the hand guide a limited distance which issufoient for proper spacing of the Written lines, and the parts are nowin position for the operator to Write another line; and the operation offeeding the guide is continued until the entire page has been Writtenupon or as much as is desired or necessary. The slide and guide can nowbe returned to their initial positions at the top of the page by simplydepressing the release key to lower the pawl out of the path of theteeth on the rack bar and moving the slide along the bottom. The slide,and consequently the hand guide, is kept in position by means of thecentral groove c and the slots d in the side pieces, and the rack bar isheld in position by the lever and the pinf Working in the slotfor".said. rack bar.

I am aware that changes in the form and proportion of parts and detailsof construction of the devices herein shown and described as anembodiment of my invention may be made without departing from the spiritor sacrificing the advantages thereof, and Itherefore reserve the rightto make such changes as fairly fall within the scope of my invention.

I-Iaving thus fully described my invention, What I claim as new anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is:-

l. A writers guide comprising a suitable top or Writing surface, aslide, a raised hand guide arranged across said top and connected tosaid slide by intermediate supports, and pawl and ratchet feedingdevices connected to the slide for moving the latter and the hand guide,substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. A Writers guide consisting of abase, an elevated top, a slide guidedon the base and carrying a raised hand guide which extends from side toside across the top, and feeding devices arranged below the top andconnected to the slide to move the latter with a step by step movement,as and for the purpose described.

3. A Writers aligning guide comprising a suitable base, a top, a slideguided on the base and carrying an elevated hand guide, feeding devicesarranged Abelow the top and connected to the slide, and a release key atone side of the top and connected to the feeding device, to throw thesame out of action and enable the slide and guide to be readily returnedto any desired position, as and for the purpose set forth.

4r. A Writers aligning guide comprising a suitable base and top, a slideguided thereon and carryin gan elevated hand guide above said top, meansfor moving said slide with a step by step movement, and a release keyadapted to throw the feed mechanism out of action to return the slideand guide to their initial positions, substantially as and for thepurpose described.

5. A writers guide comprising a suitable base and top, a slide guided insaid base and carrying an elevated hand guide, a rock-shaft on saidslide provided With a pawl, a reciproeating rack bar engaged with thepawl, and a lever for moving said rack-bar, substantially as and for thepurpose described.

6. The combination of a suitable top and base,a slide guided in saidbase, ahand guide above said top and base and carried by the slide, areciprocating rack bar guided on said base, a lever connected to therack bar, and a springcontrolled rock shaft carried by the slide andhaving the pawl and the release key, substantially as described.

7. The combination of a suitable base and the top, the slide guided onthe base and fitting in the slots at the sides of the base, thehand-guide above said top and fixed to the slide, a rack-bar and meansfor moving the lOO IlO

same, a rock shaft carrying a pawl, and a, friction spring for holdingthe slden p1ace,sub stzmtizdly as described.

8. A Wrters guide, comprsingebase hfw- 5 ing a central Way and the guideslots, a, top,

a slide tted in the Way and slots, the rook Shaft journaled on the sideand carrying the pawl, the hand guide above the top and rigi idlysecured to the slide@ rack bar guided on 1o the base above the slide,and a lever connected to said rack ber to reciprocate the same,substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I ax my signature in presence of two witnesses.

` Y DAVID F. SAUM. Vtnesses:

WILLIAM O. BELT, H. T. BERNHARD.

